


Geroya

by corellianhounds



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Gen, Mandalorian Culture, Mandalorians (Star Wars), Mando'a
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 05:14:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30117663
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corellianhounds/pseuds/corellianhounds
Summary: The children of the covert have a game they play when Beroya comes back to Nevarro.
Relationships: Din Djarin & The Armorer, Din Djarin & The Covert
Comments: 26
Kudos: 118





	Geroya

**Author's Note:**

> Mando'a translations can be found at the end

The children of the covert have a game they play when _Beroya_ comes back to Nevarro.

There are many games the children like to play; hide and seek, capture the flag, scavenger hunts and manhunt. They will watch over the shoulders of the Mandalorians as they move strategy pieces on a demesne. They will spar as warriors under the gaze of the metal mythosaur skull where the noise of the forge drowns out the _clacks_ of wooden staves. They will pretend they are different members of a home, taking care of the littler ones and helping each other with daily tasks.

When _Beroya_ returns however, they must fight their giggles as they run past him, only daring to do this game when other adults aren’t watching. It’s only fun if they get away with it.

 _Beroya_ is tall, and quieter than the other adults. He moves quieter, he walks quieter, and he speaks quieter. Sometimes he does not speak at all, does not seem to acknowledge them, but he watches everything, and they desperately want to know his stories. _If only he knew he had a captive audience._ He is mysterious in the way you remember the long-standing friend of your parents being mysterious; you know he can fly a starship, you know he has adventures, you know he has seen the homes and landscapes of many planets. You wonder if he has seen yours.

The name of the game is called _Geroya_. They thought it was fun that the name sounded like his title. Perhaps a bit redundant to the adults who do overhear it, but it was a clever choice as far as the foundlings were concerned because the adults never suspected what game they meant, and when spoken alone, whispered fervently amongst themselves, the children knew that it implied the literal meaning of the word: “nearly-hunt.” All the children know the name and the stakes, though it has never been formalized in spoken words aside from title alone. It is the kind of game that comes from sharing a collective goal, if only to sate your curiosity to see if it can even be done.

There is only one rule: see if you are brave enough to get close enough to the bounty hunter to touch him, and then escape.

 _Beroya_ is seldom home, so it is a game the children can only play when he returns, which means the moment he is seen descending to the tunnels beneath Nevarro, the game is on. The first to spot him will whisper “ _geroya!_ ” when they see the familiar patchwork of armored pieces protecting the man with the rifle, alerting their friends and siblings in hushed tones, networked and undetected by the other adults.

Most of the children are too intimidated to participate, so it is more of a suspenseful spectator sport, waiting and wordlessly daring each other to dash up to him and touch his cloak before escaping, quiet giggles as they disperse on silent feet. To see who among them is the bravest.

What usually happens is that the children either hover with tightly wound energy, watching, or their nerves will get the best of them on the run-up and they retreat or dart past before they think he notices. They usually touch his cloak, but once, Harrick’s hand brushed his belt (though he swears it was an accident and says he thought he would faint), and another time Vishti managed to tap his vambrace, garnering a round of gasps before they all scattered like field mice. So far she has been the only one teasingly dubbed _jare’la_ (though even those who say it are impressed). They didn’t know what his response to that action was, all of them having fled before gauging his body language or waiting for a reprimand, and there was an unintentional ceasefire for several cycles while they hoped, if they stayed out of sight while he was back, that he would forget about it.

They don’t think he minds their game. They know the Mandalorian hunter is like all adults in the covert; someone who will help with their problems if he can, someone they can trust, and someone who will keep them safe.

What raised the stakes of the game was when the second element came into play. It was thrilling enough to get close to him, but then one day when Au-Tey reached out to the swishing fabric trailing after _Beroya_ , _Beroya_ tapped Au-Tey’s hand first.

The Armorer had never seen such activity from the foundlings like she did that day. She peered at the bounty hunter as he took his seat across from her in the forge before tilting her head at the number of small helmets darting past or peeking around the doorway.

“What has them so excited?” she asked him.

The bounty hunter shrugged.

“They seem happy.”

She regarded him with curiosity, before moving on to their usual discussion.

Now the children knew that _Beroya_ was aware of their game, and it was thrilling. Not only did he allow it— now he was playing back.

They came to realize though that he was much better at the unspoken rules of _Geroya_ than they were. Now every child who dared to risk his notice was caught, two of his gloved fingers tapping their wrist or shoulder as they passed him. It would happen before or during their reach for his cloak, but they could never catch him off his guard, even when two or three would run up at once. It seemed as though he had perhaps always noticed and had only recently decided to participate and indulge them. Every time, _Beroya_ caught them, and every time it drove them to try harder, to do better.

The children of the covert on Nevarro only played this game with the bounty hunter. There wasn’t a chance to play it the day he returned with the mysterious camtono in hand; too many other adults in the tunnels, too many watchful eyes. They thought nothing of it. The game had always been one of stealth, only for them.

 _Beroya_ shone quietly in a new suit of armor when he departed from the forge that day, and the foundlings watched him leave as they went about their tasks as usual, already strategizing for when he would return.

__________________________________________________

_Mando’a_

  * _Beroya_ : Bounty hunter
  * _Geroya_ : Game, play, lit. meaning: “nearly-hunt”
  * _jare’la_ : foolishly oblivious of danger




End file.
